The officer was deemed to have a case to answer with regard to the daring prison break.
A Kamiti Maximum Prison officer is on the spot over a case whereby 12 prison wardens are believed to be involved in the shocking escape of three inmates serving time for terror-related activities in 2021.
The Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) on Tuesday, November 26 revealed that the officer was deemed to have a case to answer with regard to the daring prison break.
“One of the officers was equally found to have a case to answer for the offence of convening a meeting in support of a terrorist group when he allegedly facilitated the movement of terrorist convicts from Cell number 2 to cell number 6 prior to the prison break,” revealed the ODPP in a statement.
This comes as 12 senior prison wardens at the maximum security prison were found to have a case to answer in a case where they are charged with the offence of neglect of official duties and aiding terrorist prisoners to escape from GK Kamiti Maximum Prison in 2021.
The court at Kahawa ruled that the prosecution, through Principal Prosecution Counsels James Machirah, Ken Amwayi, Harrison Kiarie, and Gideon Kiprono, had established a prima facie case against the officers.
“On 14th November, 2021, three terrorism inmates at GK Kamiti Maximum Prison, namely Musharraf Abdalla, Mohamed Ali Abikar, and Joseph Juma, who are currently serving 42, 22, and 15 years of imprisonment, respectively, escaped custody under the watch of the prison wardens,” added the ODPP.
The case will be mentioned on January 13, 2025, for directions and taking defence hearing dates.
The wardens at the time garnered nationwide attention after then-Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi accused them of laxity and incompetency for their role in the escape.
At the time, Matiangi zeroed in on seven prison officials at the Kamiti Maximum Prison but added that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had moved in to investigate the prison break and more arrests would be made.
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the escape orchestrated by the three suspects is how they were able to navigate one of the country’s most secure maximum-security prison facilities with so much ease.
Following their escape, the government offered a Ksh60 million bounty for their capture, and the terrorist suspects were apprehended a few days later.
One of the suspects has been linked to the terrorist group Al-Shabaab and was involved in the Garissa University attack in April 2015, which resulted in the passing of 148 people.
Another suspect was arrested and charged in 2019 for attempting to join a terrorist organisation.
